National Sexuality Education Standards

[Pages:44]National Sexuality Education Standards

Core Content and Skills, K?12

Special thanks to the following organizations for their partnership in developing and disseminating the National Sexuality Education Standards: Content and Skills, K?12:

The American Association of Health Education ( aahe) serves educators and other professionals who promote the health of all people through education and health promotion strategies.

The American School Health Association (ashaweb. org) works to build the capacity of its members to plan, develop, coordinate, implement, evaluate and advocate for effective school health strategies that contribute to optimal health and academic outcomes for all children and youth.

The National Education Association ? Health Information Network () works to improve the health and safety of the school community through disseminating information that empowers school professionals and positively impacts the lives of their students.

The Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education () utilizes advocacy, partnerships, professional development and resources to build the capacity of school health leaders to implement effective health education and physical education policies and practices that support success in school, work and life.

The Future of Sex Education (FoSE) Initiative is a partnership between Advocates for Youth, Answer and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) that seeks to create a national dialogue about the future of sex education and to promote the institutionalization of comprehensive sexuality education in public schools. To learn more, please visit .

This publication was generously supported by a grant from an anonymous source and The George Gund Foundation.

The partners wish to thank Danene Sorace, consultant to the FoSE Initiative for her hard work and dedication.

?2011 the Future of Sex Education Initiative

Suggested citation: Future of Sex Education Initiative. (2012). National Sexuality Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12 [a special publication of the Journal of School Health]. Retrieved from . org/documents/josh-fose-standards-web.pdf

Table of Contents

National Sexuality Education Standards:

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Core Content and Skills, K?12 Advisory Committee

Additional Reviewers

5

Introduction and Background

6

Rationale for Sexuality Education in Public Schools

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The National Sexuality Education Standards

8

Role of Education Standards

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Goal of the National Sexuality Education Standards 9

Guiding Values and Principles

9

Theoretical Framework

9

Topics and Key to Indicators

10

Standards by Grade Level

12

Standards by Topic Area

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National Resources

37

For Teachers

36

For School Administrators

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For Parents

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For Middle and High School Students

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Glossary

39

References

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National Sexuality Education Standards

National Sexuality Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K?12 Advisory Committee

Laurie Bechhofer, MPH HIV/STD Education Consultant Michigan Department of Education Nora Gelperin, MEd Director of Training Answer Eva Goldfarb, PhD, LHD (hon) Professor Montclair State University Mal Goldsmith, PhD, MCHES, FASHA, FAAHE Professor Emeritus Southern Illinois University Debra Hauser, MPH Executive Vice President Advocates for Youth Nora L. Howley, MA Manager of Programs National Education Association?Health Information Network Barbara Huberman, RN, BSN, MEd Director of Education and Outreach Advocates for Youth Leslie M. Kantor, MPH Director of National Education Initiatives Planned Parenthood Federation of America Kyle Lafferty, MPH, MST, CHES HIV Program Director The Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education

Robert McGarry, EdD Director of Training and Curriculum Development Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Linda Moore Acting Executive Director American Association for Health Education Linda Morse, RN, NJ-CSN, MA, CHES President Elect American School Health Association Buzz Pruitt, EdD Professor Texas A&M University Monica Rodriguez, MS President & CEO Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) Deborah Roffman, MS, CSE Sexuality Educator and Consultant The Park School of Baltimore Elizabeth Schroeder, EdD, MSW Executive Director Answer Jennifer Heitel Yakush Director of Public Policy Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) Danene Sorace, MPP Consultant, Future of Sex Education Initiative

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Additional Reviewers

Additional Reviewers

Drafts of the sexuality education core content and skills document were reviewed by a diverse group of professionals with expertise in sexuality, public education, public health, child and adolescent medicine, and psychology. We wish to thank these individuals for their work:

JeNeen Anderson, MPH, National Association of State Boards of Education Deborah Arrindell, American Social Health Association Elissa M. Barr, PhD, University of North Florida Heather Boonstra, Guttmacher Institute Diane Brown, EdD, Widener University Kim Robert Clark, DrPH, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, CA Stephen Conley, PhD, American School Health Association Sam Dercon, Sex, Etc. Teen Editorial Staff Bonnie J. Edmondson, EdD, Connecticut State Department of Education Barb Flis, Parent Action for Healthy Kids, MI Veronica Bayetti Flores, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health Elizabeth Gallun, MA, Prince George's County Public Schools, MD Melissa Grigal, East Brunswick School District, NJ The Rev. Debra W. Haffner, MPH, M.Div., Religious Institute Bonni C. Hodges, PhD, State University of New York College at Cortland Heather Holaday, District of Columbia Public Schools Mark Huffman, MTS, Independent Trainer and Consultant Pete Hunt, MPH, MEd, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),Division of Adolescent and School Health

Nancy Hudson, RN, MS, CHES, Council of Chief State School Officers Linda Juszczak, National Assembly on School-Based Health Care Maureen Kelly, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes Emily Kitchen, Indiana University Student Douglas Kirby, PhD, ETR Associates Cynthia Lam, Sex, Etc. Teen Editorial Staff Jessica Lawrence, MS, Bogli Consulting, Inc. Konstance McCaffree, PhD, CFLE, CSE, Widener University Ronna Popkin, MS, Columbia University Valerie Rochester, Black Women's Health Imperative John Santelli, MD, MPH, Columbia University Debra Shapiro, Society for Public Health Education Samantha Shinberg, Advocates for Youth Intern Susan Telljohann, HSD, CHES, University of Toledo Melanie Tom, Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice Al Vernacchio, MSEd, Friends' Central School, PA Jenna Weiss, University Middle School, NJ David Wiley, PhD, Texas State University Kelly Wilson, PhD, CHES, Texas State University Pam Wilson, MSW, Sexuality Educator and Trainer Susan N. Wilson, MSEd, Sexuality Education Consultant Michael Young, PhD, FAAHB, New Mexico State University

The reviewers above provided many valuable comments to the draft documents. Organizational affiliations are included for identification purposes only.

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National Sexuality Education Standards

Introduction and Background

The goal of the National Sexuality Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K?12 is to provide clear, consistent and straightforward guidance on the essential minimum, core content for sexuality education that is developmentally and age-appropriate for students in grades K?12.The development of these standards is a result of an ongoing initiative, the Future of Sex Education (FoSE). Forty individuals from the fields of health education, sexuality education, public health, public policy, philanthropy and advocacy convened for a two-day meeting in December 2008 to create a strategic plan for sexuality education policy and implementation. A key strategic priority that emerged from this work was the creation of national sexuality education standards to advance the implementation of sexuality education in US public schools.

Specifically, the National Sexuality Education Standards were developed to address the inconsistent implementation of sexuality education nationwide and the limited time allocated to teaching the topic. Health education, which typically covers a broad range of topics including sexuality education, is given very little time in the school curriculum. According to the School Health Policies and Practices Study, a national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Adolescent School Health to assess school health policies and practices, a median total of 17.2 hours is devoted to instruction in HIV, pregnancy and STD prevention: 3.1 hours in elementary, 6 hours in middle and 8.1 hours in high school.1

Given these realities, the National Sexuality Education Standards were designed to:

? Outline what, based on research and extensive professional expertise, are the minimum, essential content and skills for sexuality education K?12 given student needs, limited teacher preparation and typically available time and resources.

? Assist schools in designing and delivering sexuality education K?12 that is planned, sequential and part of a comprehensive school health education approach.

? Provide a clear rationale for teaching sexuality education content and skills at different grade levels that is evidence-informed, age-appropriate and theorydriven.

? Support schools in improving academic performance by addressing a content area that is both highly relevant to students and directly related to high school graduation rates.

? Present sexual development as a normal, natural, healthy part of human development that should be a part of every health education curriculum.

? Offer clear, concise recommendations for school personnel on what is age-appropriate to teach students at different grade levels.

? Translate an emerging body of research related to school-based sexuality education so that it can be put into practice in the classroom.

The National Health Education Standards2 (NHES) heavily influenced the development of the National Sexuality Education Standards. First created in 1995 and updated in 2007, the NHES were developed by the Joint Committee on National Health Education Standards of the American Cancer Society and widely adopted by states and local school districts. The NHES focus on a student's ability to understand key concepts and learn particular skills for using that content. These standards were developed to serve as the underpinning for health education knowledge and skills students should attain by grades 2, 5, 8 and 12. The NHES do not address any specific health content areas, including content for sexuality education.

The National Sexuality Education Standards were further informed by the work of the CDC's Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT)3; existing state and international education standards that include sexual health content; the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten ? 12th Grade4; and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics5, recently adopted by most states.

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Rationale for Sexuality Education in Public Schools

Rationale for Sexuality Education in Public Schools

For years, research has highlighted the need to provide effective, comprehensive sexuality education to young people. The US has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the industrialized world.6 Each year in the US, more than 750,000 women ages 15?19 become pregnant,7 with more than 80 percent of these pregnancies unintended.8 Furthermore, while young people in the US ages 15?25 make up only one-quarter of the sexually active population, they contract about half of the 19 million sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) annually. This equates to one in four sexually active teenagers contracting a sexually transmitted disease each year.9 And young people ages 13?29 account for about one-third of the estimated 50,000 new HIV infections each year, the largest share of any age group.10

There is also a pressing need to address harassment, bullying and relationship violence in our schools, which have a significant impact on a student's emotional and physical well-being as well as on academic success. According to the 2009 National School Climate Survey, nearly 9 out of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) students reported being harassed in the previous year. Two-thirds of LGBT students reported feeling unsafe and nearly one-third skipped at least one day of school because of concerns about their personal safety. LGBT students who reported frequent harassment also suffered from lower grade point averages.11

Similarly, teen relationship violence continues to be a pressing problem. Although frequently under-reported, ten percent of teens are physically harmed by their boyfriend or girlfriend in a given year.12

Studies have repeatedly found that health programs in school can help young people succeed academically. The most effective strategy is a strategic and coordinated approach to health that includes family and community involvement, school health services, a healthy school environment and health education, which includes sexuality education.13 14 15 In fact, an extensive review of school health initiatives found that programs that included health education had a positive effect on overall academic outcomes, including reading and math scores.15

Evaluations of comprehensive sexuality education programs show that many of these programs can help youth delay the onset of sexual activity, reduce the frequency of sexual activity, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom and contraceptive use.16 17 Researchers recently examined the National Survey of Family Growth to determine the impact of sexuality education on sexual risktaking for young people ages 15-19, and found that teens who received comprehensive sexuality education were 50 percent less likely to report a pregnancy than those who received abstinence-only education.18

The CDC has also repeatedly found that student health behaviors and good grades are related, stating: "...students who do not engage in health-risk behaviors receive higher grades than their classmates who do engage in health-risk behaviors."19

Further, studies show that physical and emotional healthrelated problems may inhibit young people from learning by reducing their motivation to learn; diminishing their feelings of connectedness to school; and contributing to absenteeism and drop out.13 20

An example related to sexuality education is teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy often takes a particular toll on school connectedness for both partners, representing a major disruption in many teens' lives and making it difficult to remain in and/or engaged in school. Many pregnant and parenting teens experience lower grades and higher dropout rates than their non-parenting peers. In fact, research shows that only 51 percent of pregnant and parenting teens graduate from high school as compared to 89 percent of their non-pregnant and parenting peers.21

Given the evidence that connects lower risk behaviors to academic success, schools clearly have as vested an interest in keeping students healthy as do parents and other community members. In providing comprehensive sexuality education programs, schools support student health and as such further foster young people's academic achievement.

Parents overwhelmingly favor comprehensive sexuality education in public school at the national and state

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National Sexuality Education Standards

levels.22 23 24 25 In 2004, National Public Radio (NPR), the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Kennedy School of Government released a poll that indicated:

? Ninety-three percent of parents of junior high school students and 91 percent of parents of high school students believe it is very or somewhat important to have sexuality education as part of the school curriculum.

? Ninety-five percent of parents of junior high school students and 93 percent of parents of high school students believe that birth control and other methods of preventing pregnancy are appropriate topics for sexuality education programs in schools.

? Approximately 75 percent of parents believed that the topic of sexual orientation should be included in sexuality education programs and "discussed in a way that provides a fair and balanced presentation of the facts and different views in society."

? Eighty-eight percent of parents of junior high school students and 85 percent of parents of high school students believe information on how to use and where to get contraceptives is an appropriate topic for sexuality education programs in schools.26

The National Sexuality Education Standards set forth minimum, essential sexuality education core content and skills responsive to the needs of students and in service to their overall academic achievement and sexual health. They

fulfill a key recommendation of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy's National HIV and AIDS Strategy for the United States, which calls for educating all Americans about the threat of HIV and how to prevent it. This recommendation includes the goal of educating young people about HIV and emphasizes the important role schools can play in providing access to current and accurate information. The strategy notes that it is important to provide access to a baseline of information that is grounded in the benefits of abstinence and delaying or limiting sexual activity, while ensuring that youth who make the decision to be sexually active have the information they need to take steps to protect themselves.27

In addition, the National Sexuality Education Standards satisfy a key recommendation of the Office of the Surgeon General's National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy, which calls for the provision of effective sexual health education, especially for adolescents. This strategy notes that medically accurate, developmentally appropriate, and evidence-based sexual health education provides students with the skills and resources that help them make informed and responsible decisions.28

National Sexuality Education Standards

The Role of Education Standards

Educational standards are commonplace in public education and are a key component in developing a rich learning experience for students. The purpose of standards in general is to provide clear expectations about what students should know and be able to do by the conclusion of certain grade levels. Other equally important components of the student learning experience include pre-service teacher training, professional development and ongoing support and mentoring for teachers, clear school policies that support sexuality education implementation and the teachers who deliver sexuality education, a sequential, age-appropriate curriculum that allows students to practice key skills and assessment tools for all of these elements.

Standards are an important part of the educational process, but they do not provide specific guidance on how a topic area should be taught. They also generally do not address special needs students, students for whom English is their second language, or students with any of the other unique attributes of a given classroom or school setting.

In addition, although recommendations made here are based on grade level, children of the same age often

develop at different rates and some content may need to be adapted based on the needs of the students.

Sexuality education standards specifically should accomplish the following:

? Provide a framework for curriculum development, instruction and student assessment.

? Reflect the research-based characteristics of effective sexuality education.

? Be informed by relevant health behavior theories and models.

? Focus on health within the context of the world in which students live.

? Focus on the emotional, intellectual, physical and social dimensions of sexual health.

? Teach functional knowledge and essential personal and social skills that contribute directly to healthy sexuality.

? Focus on health promotion, including both abstinence from and risk reduction pertaining to unsafe sexual behaviors.

? Consider the developmental appropriateness of material for students in specific grade spans.

? Include a progression from more concrete to higherorder thinking skills.

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